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Driver dies in fiery crash on Highway 99 in Delta

Traffic diverted around crash site for hours

One man died and traffic was thrown into chaos for the rest of the day after a fiery crash on Highway 99 near the Delta works yard Wednesday morning.

Delta police spokesperson Sgt. Sarah Swallow said the truck, which was carrying a load of sand, was travelling south on the highway when it lost control and hit the center median just past the Highway 17A exit. The truck burst into flames and the driver was declared dead at the scene.

A northbound van was also affected by the crash and the driver of that vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Highway 99 was closed in both directions between Highwa y 17A and Highway 10 for several hours following the crash as officers investigated the incident and the site was cleared. One northbound lane was opened to traffic later in the afternoon but the highway was not fully open until around 8 p.m. Drivers heading south through the George Massey Tunnel were diverted into Ladner to circumvent the closure.

"We just want to thank everybody for their assistance and patience," Swallow said.

The emergency response to the crash required the coming together of firefighters from several different departments.

Firefighter Mark Janson, who was killed when he was hit by a car two weeks ago, was laid to rest Wednesday morning and firefighters from neighbouring jurisdictions, including Vancouver, Surrey and Richmond, were manning Delta’s fire halls Wednesday morning so local firefighters could attend the service in South Delta.